Description
This recipe is inspired by a Southern French recipe shared in Paula Wolfert’s seminal Mediterranean Cooking. Poaching lamb in olive oil adds a rich decadence to the melt-off-the-bone tender meat, similar to a duck confit but more supple. I used my Cara Cara Mia co-milled orange oil, but you could use another orange co-milled oil or even a high-quality extra virgin olive oil and then finish the dish with a co-milled orange oil. You won’t achieve the same layering of orange flavors in the meat, but the texture and flavor will be divine.
Ingredients
- 3 small lamb shanks
- 3 tablespoons kosher salt
- Fresh black pepper
- Zest of 1 Cara Cara or other navel orange
- 12 unpeeled garlic cloves, smashed
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 cups Cara Cara Mia co-milled olive oil or another orange or mandarin oil
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (pick one that’s bright and fruity)
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and sliced
- 2 cups pearl couscous
- 2 3/4 cups water
- Pinch salt
- Fresh parsley, torn or chopped
- Fresh mint and chives, torn or chopped (optional but welcome)
- Good pinch of flaky salt
- Fresh-ground black pepper
- 1/2 navel orange for squeezing
- Orange olive oil for drizzling
Instructions
To marinate the lamb: Place shanks in a shallow bowl or pan and sprinkle the salt, black pepper, and orange zest over the lamb. Let sit in the fridge for at least 8 hours, or ideally overnight.
To cook the lamb: Preheat oven to 250°F. Wipe shanks clean and arrange snugly in the bottom of a small Dutch oven or high-sided ceramic baking dish. Tuck smashed garlic cloves and sprigs of thyme between the shanks, add co-milled orange olive oil; the shanks should be about two-thirds submerged. Add a dusting of black pepper and kosher salt, and cover, and cook the lamb for about 3 hours, rotating hourly, until the meat is lusciously tender and easily pulls apart with a gentle flick of a fork. Set aside and let cool as you prepare the couscous.
To make the couscous: Heat 1–2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat in a 2– to 3-quart saucepan. Add sliced garlic and swirl in olive oil until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon. Add pearl couscous and toast 3–5 minutes, or until the couscous has started to turn golden. Add water and a good pinch of salt. Stir and bring to a boil, then turn heat down to a simmer and cover. Cook until water is absorbed. Remove from heat and let rest for 5 minutes.
To serve: Add a spoonful or two of the lamb poaching oil to the couscous and fluff it up. Then add a handful of roughly chopped parsley along with any other herbs you’re using and toss again. Pile the couscous on a large platter and set the shanks on top. Sprinkle more torn parsley over the whole platter along with some flaky salt and fresh-ground black pepper. Finish with a few good squeezes of navel orange and a final drizzle of Cara Cara Mia or other co-milled orange olive oil.
A note about serving: I serve this dish with the shanks intact and have guests spoon couscous and then almost effortlessly fork the silky lamb off the bone. If that seems cumbersome, you can fork the meat off the bone for your guests, but do it at the table so everyone can experience how the meat almost melts away.
Notes
A note about the poaching oil: Hang on to the orange-y lamb-y poaching oil after you’re done cooking and use it for roasting carrots or potatoes or braising white beans and winter greens. Try tossing with simple cooked pasta and Parmesan cheese.
- Category: Entree
